Gaza: Healthcare System Support
Baroness Janke Excerpts(1 week ago)
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Baroness Janke (LD)
My Lords, I too welcome the prospect of a ceasefire, but the catastrophe of Gaza needs far more than a respite. We have heard about attacks on hospitals. There are no functioning hospitals in northern Gaza because of the bombardments which have removed not just healthcare but staff. Some 500 healthcare staff and 200 aid workers have been killed. We should pay tribute to the courage of these people, many of whom are volunteers. It is they who are providing the reports of what is going on in Gaza which are being refuted by others in this Chamber. I would ask those noble Lords to read the testimony of some of the people who actually work there.
Does the Minister feel that the Government have done enough to protect healthcare in Gaza, in light of the systematic attempts to destroy it? Aid is almost non-existent for Palestinians: 160 attempts to reach civilians in north Gaza by the UN resulted in virtually zero success. So far this year, eight babies have frozen to death in Gaza, largely as a result of denial of fuel, shelter and medical care.
Any lasting peace will depend on justice and accountability, so will the UK Government commit to pursuing those responsible for war crimes and ensuring that they are held fully accountable? The people of Gaza were already deprived, crowded and oppressed. They have lost everything in this latest catastrophe. Will the UK take a lead and insist on immediate access to aid and medical care for the dispossessed and displaced people of Gaza and will the Government play a full part in rebuilding a future for Gaza based on justice, accountability and guaranteed human rights?
International Aid Workers: Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories
Baroness Janke Excerpts(1 month, 4 weeks ago)
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Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)
The noble Baroness is right to highlight what has been happening to health workers and aid workers. Almost 1,000 health workers and around 300 aid workers have been killed since October 2023. It is important that what happens is documented and recorded for the future, as she says.
Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Lab Co-op)
My Lords, we will hear from the Liberal Democrats Benches.
Baroness Janke (LD)
My Lords, in light of the findings of the ICC that there are reasonable grounds to believe that Netanyahu and his former Minister intentionally and knowingly deprived the civilian population in Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival—including food, water, medicine and medical supplies, as well as fuel and electricity—will the Government publish in full the legal advice they have received from their law officers regarding the situation in Gaza and the legality of UK export licensing of arms to Israel?
Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)
My Lords, as we have discussed at length previously, we have a fairly well-established way of looking at arms licensing. I am confident that the decisions that have been made in regard to licensing, where we have restricted some items, have been completely and wholly in line with the UK legislation.